peace

A Quiet Love Celebration

by ladypbwiggins

I was reminded today of the depth of love I have for my husband. Sometimes fatigue and a feeling of helplessness makes you impatient. Consistent rest is not something I get often. But this last week has been especially tiring. The last two nights 4 hours combined. But it was Christmas. This morning the emergency room became my Christmas celebration venue. Once I was there I forgot how tired I was. My husband’s care became my focus. Sitting in his emergency room watching him fluctuate between sleep and sharp pain, pierced my heart. Love overwhelmed me. He said this is the best party. You are together.

Love conquers all.

We usually think of wrongdoing but this time it conquered fatigue. I was ready for battle with the medical system which is sometime unreasonable. I was ready but it was not necessary. I guess that was my Christmas present.

Love was present. Love allowed me to be blessed and to be a blessing to some of the staff. Most of all, love sustained me. Love used the arms of my children and church family to hold me.

Now I am resting in love’s arms completely at peace. I miss my husband though not worried.

Thank you love for your birth, your life, your resurrection.

I had a very blessed Christmas Celebration.

Did I Miss The Point

by ladypbwiggins

Dr. James Cleveland penned a song many years ago based on an event recorded in the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke. I think we are most familiar with Mark’s account because it gives more information. In Mark 4:35-41 we are told of Yeshua asleep on a boat with his disciples when a storm arose. The boat seemed in inevitable danger of being destroyed along with all aboard. Yet Yeshua slept. The disciples freaked out. How can he lie there asleep when we are going to die?

The disciples went to Him and woke Him up saying don’t you care that we are about to die. Implied was a cry for Him to Do something. So He got up and said to the winds and the waves, Peace. Be Still. He then looked at them and said “Why are you fearful. How is it that you have no faith?”

All my life the emphasis in hearing teaching and preaching on this text has been on Peace. Be Still. But I think we missed the most important lesson. Yeshua was in the boat. They had seen miracles performed by him. They had seen people healed, demons cast out but they still did not understand who He was. However, they knew if He were awake He could do something. The lesson I believe we missed is, He was in the boat. He did not have to be physically awake. The winds and waves knew their master and the mere fact that He was in the boat protected the passengers in the boat. If the boat capsized, He was there to save them. So the storm did not matter.

Protected because Yeshua was in the boat. Is He in my boat? Is He in your boat? If He is, do I have the faith to believe nothing is going to happen to me that He doesn’t allow and that He hasn’t prepared me for? Do I have the faith to be at PEACE in the storm? Can I BE STILL even if the storm doesn’t?

Disturbing My Peace

by ladypbwiggins

In that early morning quiet there is an indescribable peace. Birds are not even singing yet. It is a calming, stressless atmosphere. There is no desire to think about reality. Just dream and meditate. A time to hear and feel the Presence of God.

What was that? Noise!

A car just drove by, its music blaring. Someone dropped what sounded like wood slats. Man!They woke the birds. With each added sound, the reality of responsibility crept in to disturb my peace. Now it’s time to work. All I have left is the memory of early morning peace and calm. And I’m not even a morning person. 😀

Un-conditionally

by ladypbwiggins

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially the last few days. Have I really grown to love unconditionally?

You know I went back to the dictionary to see if I missed anything regarding “un”.

Un means not. When attached to a word it means not that. Un+Fair =unfair – not fair.

Un+conditionally =unconditionally – not conditionally. We, or maybe I should say I, think of no conditions, no strings attached. Could it mean more?

I looked at the statement my son Sam made: you can’t love unconditionally unless you know the condition the person is in or has. (My paraphrase). The context for the word condition changes. This doesnt’have anything to do with the strings attached but instead the state or situation the person is in. Could mean their character, their socioeconomic status, their health, or behavior. I thought about that. I don’t like liars. It would be easier to embrace someone with a possibly contagious disease than a liar. But that’s the condition of mental health they are in, their character.

Condition = liar

Uncondition = not liar

I am to love them as if the condition did not exist. Love them as if they weren’t liars.

To love unconditionally then means to love as if the condition you find so offensive was NOT. See past the condition and love them anyway. This doesn’t mean you accept or agree with wrong. It doesn’t mean you are blind to the condition. It means you see it and choose to love as if it wasn’t there.

I have to ask myself do I truly love some people unconditionally that I thought I did? Can I love racists, hatemongers, rapists, pedophiles, murderers, liars, and the like in my present “condition”? I still don’t like liars but can I love them anyway?

Loving unconditionally is loving as if the condition was NOT.

Resurrecting Franklin

by ladypbwiggins

I went to bed last night thinking about causes for my stress and how to relieve it. I realized all the different directions I felt pulled into; all the different ideas floating around in my brain; all the different responsibilities I now have. I felt my stress level go up just thinking about it all. Anyone who knows me well knows I hate unorganized chaos. (I believe I can have some organization within my chaotic life) Example:looking for the tops to storage containers or pots and pans. When they are cleaned, I store them with their tops on. Having to look for them creates stress.

Then an organization system we used in the ’80s popped into my thoughts: Franklin Planner. I haven’t used it in years but it seems quite appropriate for the chaos in my life. Can’t hurt. After this thought I went into a restful sleep.

For those who haven’t used the system, it is quite simple and very effective. First list all the things you have to do. Then prioritize them. All urgent, time sensitive recieve an A level; the next in importance recieve a B level and so on. Making the lists should prove very enlightening. Prioritizing is going to be interesting because right now I think everything is urgent. Recently I unpacked my husband’s office and found his planner. Now I can organize my chaos. 😄

So today I will resurrect Franklin.

Night Person Shifting

by ladypbwiggins

I have just read SimpleLivingOver50’s post “The Morning Person“.All my life I have been the night person. I did my best work after everyone else went to bed. I cleaned my house. Washed my clothes. Paid my bills and enjoyed precious moments of peace and quiet. The world was sleeping. I had my most creative moments around 2 A.M. It seemed the juices began to flow and I found solutions for problems, made the best and most efficient plans , did some creative writing, and sewing. Then something happened. Was it because I crossed that 50’s boundary?

Now I awaken, lately, about 4:30 A.M. All of the things I enjoyed at night have shifted to morning. I resisted at first but now I am accepting it and learning to enjoy it. Maybe my creative juices will begin to flow at 4:30 while it is still dark and the world is still sleeping and before the sunrise interruptions begin. Those interruptions, birds singing and such, are enjoyable but they are sometimes overshadowed by the awakening of mankind to a new day.

Am I becoming “The Morning Person?”